The Devil's Lover: The Wish by Dahlia Lu Page B

water with the tip of her toe. It was warm to the
touch, which she found surprising. She submerged her body into the
water and surfaced a few moments later. Leaning her head back, she
let herself float in relaxation. Her golden brown tresses float
freely, like exotic coral in a reef.
     
     
     

Chapter 10: Safer with
Him
     
    She found him in a large library. It
was the first time she'd seen him since she had turned him away.
She didn’t intentionally look for him. She was hungry and wanted to
find her way to the kitchen, but had gotten lost along the way.
This castle was massive in both size and complexity. She had been
given the freedom to explore the castle many times, but even then,
she still got lost every once in a while. 
    When he noticed her presence, he
placed the book on his hand back on the shelf. She was impressed
with the pure size of the room. It was ten times, no, maybe fifty
times larger than the school library, if not more. The book shelves
towered as tall as three stories. In the middle of the room was a
built-in marble fountain, which was under a domed glass
ceiling.
    “ All these books,” her
eyes jumped from shelves to shelves. “I had never seen so many
books in one place.”
    “ Well,” he said, “when you
have abundance of time, you develop hobbies.”
    “ You read them all?” she
asked teasingly.
    “ Yes,”
    “ All of them?” she asked
once again in disbelief.
    “ I collect them among
other things.”
    "This library is protected by magic so
the materials will not be ravished by time.”
    “ How old are all these
books?”
    He took a moment to search his memory.
“It started with the Ith’cara people, four hundred fifty-six
thousand years ago,”
    Her eyes narrowed. “The history of
civilization only goes back twelve thousands years.”
    “ For you, it may
be.”
    “ Are you saying there were
many civilizations before us?” 
    Her stomach growled. Her face flushed
from embarrassment.
    “ Will you eat
now?”
    She was too stubborn to say yes. He
took her by the hand and the next minute, they were in the kitchen.
Every room in this castle was enormous. Almost everything was made
of stone in the kitchen. It looked like something straight out of a
medieval fairy tale. There were small loaves of freshly baked bread
on the table, along with some milk.
    “ Do you need to eat?” she
asked curiously.
    “ I can eat," he said, "but
like everything else, it is not a necessity.”
    "Do you need anything to sustain
yourself?"
    "No,”
    “ Then why is there a
kitchen in the castle?”
    “ We didn’t build it,” he
grabbed the bread and handed it over to her, “it was
stolen.”
    “ You stole it?” That
explained the piece of land the castle set on. It looked as it if
it were torn from the ground. “Why?”
    “ It’s a very long story.
Longer than your lifetime, I’m afraid. In a short few words, they
got on my bad side. Even so, I must commend them on their
craftsmanship. Have your meal. I have other engagements to attend,
but I will return shortly.”
    Part of her didn’t want him to
leave.
    “ Good riddance,” she
muttered, knowing he could hear her. He turned back. He’d forgotten
one important thing. In an ancient language, he summoned a
protection spell around her.
    “ W-what did you just do?”
she asked, surprised.
    “ It’s just a precaution,”
he assured her. “Be a good girl until I get back.”
     
    †††††
     
    He was a liar! He said he would return
‘shortly’, but it had been days. She had taken the time to explore
the castle, but even a big place like this could only keep her
occupied for so long. She glanced out of the window and wondered
where Lucifer had gone. She made her way downstairs to the entrance
of the castle. She even tried to open the double doors, but they
wouldn't move an inch. It didn’t take long before she gave
up.
    As she walked away, she heard a
creaking sound behind her. Turning around, she saw the doors were
already opened.